Braya
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly Slavic, with no defined meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 572 living Americans carry the first name Braya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Braya today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Braya births was 2019 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Braya. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
572
~ 1 in 599,221 Americans
Peak year
2019
42 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,776
Tracked since 1992
Census
Braya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 419 people with the first name Braya, which placed it at #23,378 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#23,378
National first-name rank
People counted
419
419 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
46.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Braya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Braya is White at 46.1%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Hispanic (14.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Braya described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Braya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.1% · 193
- Black or African American28.2% · 118
- Hispanic or Latino14.3% · 60
- Two or more races8.6% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 4
Popularity
Braya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Braya from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 282 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Braya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Braya by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Braya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brayas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Illinois, Arizona, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Braya, while Texas, Pennsylvania, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Braya
The name Braya has its roots in the ancient Aramaic language, which was spoken in the Middle East and parts of the Mediterranean region during the time of the Byzantine Empire. It is believed to have originated from the Aramaic word "braya," which means "blessed" or "favored."
In the earliest historical records, the name Braya appears in several ancient Aramaic texts and inscriptions dating back to the 5th century AD. These texts suggest that the name was initially used by Aramaic-speaking Christian communities in regions like Syria and Palestine.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Braya was a Christian monk who lived in the 6th century AD in the region of modern-day Lebanon. He was known for his piety and devotion to the teachings of the early Christian church.
Another notable figure with the name Braya was a prominent scholar and theologian who lived in the 9th century AD in the city of Edessa, which is now located in modern-day Turkey. He was renowned for his contributions to the study of Aramaic literature and his writings on Christian theology.
In the 12th century, a woman named Braya was recorded as being a member of the royal court of the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the Crusades. She held an influential position and was known for her diplomatic skills in navigating the complex political landscape of the time.
During the Renaissance period, a painter named Braya da Lodi (1470-1520) gained recognition for his work in the Lombardy region of Italy. He was known for his vibrant and colorful depictions of religious scenes and was commissioned by several wealthy patrons.
In the 17th century, a French Huguenot woman named Braya Delaunay (1615-1693) gained notoriety for her role in helping to establish a Protestant community in the city of Berlin, Germany. She was a prominent figure in the Huguenot diaspora and worked tirelessly to provide support for her fellow refugees.
Throughout history, the name Braya has been borne by individuals from various cultural and religious backgrounds, often carrying the meaning of being blessed or favored. While its usage may have evolved over time, it remains a name with a rich historical heritage rooted in the ancient Aramaic language and culture.
People
Braya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Braya as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Braya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Braya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 572 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Braya going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 599,221 US residents.
Is Braya a common name?
We classify Braya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 577 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Braya most popular?
The single biggest year for Braya was 2019, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Braya is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Braya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 419 people with the name Braya, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,378 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Braya in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Braya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Braya leans strongly female. 385 people counted with this name were female (90.8%), compared with 39 male bearers (9.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Braya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Braya is White at 46.1%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Hispanic (14.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Braya most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Braya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.1% (193 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Braya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Braya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Braya in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Braya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Braya in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Braya can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Braya?
Want to know how many Americans are named Braya? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.